The Calling
by Ketojan
Summary: The Mutant threat in the Capital Wasteland is growing more problematic. The Supermutant populace is growing rapidly and small towns are being raided. With the Brotherhood of Steel in a leadership lockdown, Arthur Maxson flees the Citadel and enlists the help of Megaton's Sheriff, Hardin Simms, his deputy Jynx and an unorthodox Supermutant to bring an end to the Mutant threat.
1. Responsibility

Arthur shuddered at the sights and sounds of the assembly, the bickering and arguing, that could be heard around the chamber as the votes were cast. This didn't feel real, none of it felt real, today there were two candidates, none of which were a Lyons or a Maxson.

Triston or Rothchild... Both of which insist that they are doing this out of love for Owyn and his daughter, though Arthur didn't see that side of it at all. All he saw were two beta dogs, snapping up at the position of the pack alpha, desperate to benefit from the fall of the Lyons dynasty.

How was everything falling apart? Two years ago, it looked like a bright and rather dull future was ahead of them but now? Now it was all collapsing...

Did nobody care that Sarah was dead? Her body hadn't even been recovered, her friends and family were spending the time that they should be spending grieving infighting over the position that she left vacant.

The mission to eradicate the mutant menace was most definitely a failure, mutant activity was on the rise and yet nobody cared, because the Brotherhood didn't have an Elder. How could it be that Owyn, the kindest and wisest man that Arthur ever knew taught these people nothing?

How was it, after everything that Sarah had taught him, after everything they told him he was going to accomplish, that he was stuck at the back of the room, without a fucking vote, unable to do **anything** about it!?

Arthur had finally had enough, he stood up and marched out of the council chambers, not even bothering to hear the result, what did it matter? The enemy was out there, the mutants were growing restless with each day, prowling the wastes and looking for captives to drag off to their deaths.

Some chosen one he was... wasn't a chosen one supposed to offer hope? Wasn't he supposed to be leading these people to the Promised Land? No, instead he sat around as a permanent drain on resources...

As he stepped out, into the hallway, he felt his torso hollow out again, he could feel himself going faint with each motion forward as he approached the lab, panting softly until he eventually took a seat on the floor and shivered furiously. He felt sick, angered, afraid, enraged but most of all, it was how isolating the situation had made him.

Both Tristan and Rothchild wanted to hold him up and consider his half-hearted endorsement as 'approval' as they rubbed it in their rival's faces.

Arthur had no intentions of adding fuel to the fires, the divisions were just too much of a distraction. The Mutants were still out there, the ones that killed Sarah, they were still threatening to take settlements and maybe even repopulate and when they were so big in number that they could easily take Megaton, what could be done then?

He looked at his pale hands before burying his face into his knees, taking in several deep breaths as he fought back tears.

 _Sarah..._

 _Come home..._

 _Please?_

"Mister Simms?" A metallic, British sounding voice asked, having to be rather loud to be heard over his thrusters.

"Mrgh..." Harden growled as he buried his head into his duvet, trying to cover himself up to shield his ears from the tiny jet engine burning at the far side of the room.

"Mister Simms, I must insist that you wake up and give this some degree of attention... Even if you're just willing to tell it to bugger off, it would be better than nothing.."

"Harden!"

This got him to sit right up, shaking his head furiously as he looked around the room, noticing that his Mr Handy robot and Jynx were now stood over his bed, looking somewhat intently at him.

"Wh-What!?" He grunted, looking around the room with a sigh as he tried to find some form of device with the time on it.

"What the hell are you... What're you doing here?" He grumbled, throwing his sheets off and getting Jynx to look away in a mix of disgust and decency. Harden definitely needed to learn to sleep clothed...

"Those guys? The ones at Gobbs? They didn't take your threats seriously and they're still there!"

Harden sighed as he slipped a pair of pants on and buttoned up the crotch, Jynx just found herself looking over to robotic butler, with a sigh.

"Is he always like this, Wadsworth?"

"Unfortunately, yes." The Mr Handy sighed as he floated away, giving Harden the privacy that he needed.

"Miss Jynx, would you like a hot beverage to get over the shock out of seeing Master Simms' indecency?"

"Hey! Six months ago, she would've begged to have seen that!" Harden grunted as he threw his shirt over his head and tunnelled his way out of it."

"Harden, believe me... There's nothing remotely erotic or even charming about a guy rolling out of a dirty bed, stinking of booze. I meant, for fucks' sake, you're barely old enough to drink and you _already_ have a problem!"

"I have two problems." Harden grunted as he pulled his Sherriff's duster around himself and pulled at it furiously.

"They're both up at Gobb's place." He added as he grabbed his lever action rifle and loading it, cocking it as he went. He wasn't fully aware but that rifle was Abraham Lincoln's very own repeater, salvaged from the Washington DC museum of natural history.

He and Jynx had been living in this place for two years now, surrounded by various items, weapons and pieces of armour. Few of it could be identified and testing it could have rather disastrous results, so the energy weapons were locked away, back in Denis' storage locker.

It still disgusted him that they were shacking up in the Lone Wanderer's house. Originally this was Jynx's place, however, Harden grew tired of living alone. Jynx could see it and since they had been dating for a while anyway, Harden decided that it would be best to move in here, what with the robot butler and everything.

At first, it felt like a new beginning, a new way of life but now? It was nothing more than a horrible mistake...

"Sherrif Simms, might I suggest that you wear some armour-?" Wadsworth's suggestion was cut short as the door was slammed shut in his face, prompting him to sigh.

"Just looking out for your wellbeing, sir... no need to thank me. Or acknowledge me..." He grumbled, in disgust as he hovered away, seeing as Jynx approached him.

"Think I should go after him?" She asked peering around.

"I would, aye... You know, for all the bad-mouthing, he does share a lot of traits with Mister Callaghan."

Jynx couldn't help but chuckle at that, he had a point... That night when the Slavers came, tearing this place apart, Denis cared nothing for his own wellbeing, despite everyone's insistence that he got himself some proper medical attention.

"Alright, I'll get going." She insisted, hopping over to the door.

"You know the drill, right? Don't-..."

"Let anyone in, unless they're you two, yes, I am fully aware!" Wadsworth grunted, looking away, with a scowl.

"Only been living here for decades..."

"Sorry, just... never hurts to make sure." She sighed before rushing out.

Hardin stepped through the streets, doing his best to eye the town, to make sure that nothing else was going on bellow. Thankfully, there were few instances in which he was needed these days, his no nonsense attitude seemed to keep people on the straight and narrow.

When they heard that the sheriff was a kid, some wasteland asshole tried robbing the Brass Lantern, made off with quite a bit of money as well before he was shot in the back by Hardin's Rifle on the way out.

Dumb prick had about 500 caps on him, couldn't have gotten very far with that but far enough, one would think...

Thankfully, most of the scum of the wastes died in Hamilton's raid, though there were resurgent groups forming around the Capital Wasteland. Nothing too major yet though, nothing that had a chance of invading the town...

The thing was... With Jericho, Billy, his dad and most importantly, Denis, gone... Hardin was this town's last line of defence. He alone was all that stood between this town and the world that wanted it dead.

It was quite a lot of pressure, especially considering that he wasn't even considered a 'man' in most people's eyes. However, nobody else would step up to the job. Sure the settlers didn't like having a kid as Sheriff but would **they** wear the duster? Of course not, that would imply that any of them wanted to be responsible for once in their sad, pathetic excuse of lives.

Hardin paused as he reached Gob's Saloon, taking a deep breath as he placed his hand on the door. He couldn't afford to give people chances, he **had** to shoot first and ask questions later. His Father didn't do that and for all the moral high ground he gained, he still wound up dead...

Hardin stepped inside the tavern, seeing the two patrons in question, stood at the bar.

"The fuck man!? Moriarity used to let us stay here for free, all the time!" The first Patron insisted, he wore a leather vest, with a white t-shirt underneath it. Both his shirt and his vest looked surprisingly clean...

"Moriarity is dead and buried, this place is mine! You want free room and board? Move in with your parents! We're a business, now pay up." Nova sighed, shaking her head. She was usually the one who was dealing with situations like this, Gob wasn't exactly the most confident of guys, due to how Moriarity used to treat him.

Apparently, Gob used to be a slave, according to rumour. He technically wasn't, through some loose technicalities.

"Listen whore, I ain't payin' to stay in this shit hole! There was a cockroach in my room!"

"Just the one? Huh... We should upgrade that to the presidential suite. Now, pay up, five hundred caps for the bed and the drinks you bought."

"I did **not** drink five hundred caps worth of swill!"

"Two forty for the two rooms and 250 for the food and drink, we did try to warn you but you got aggressive with us, remember?"

"C'mon Howard, fuck this bitch. We'll just hit the road." The other patron shrugged, rising to his feet and turning around, immediately finding himself standing face to face with Hardin.

"Oh fuck... It's the big bad sherrif!" 'Howard' mocked as he moved forward, eyeing the rifle.

"Get the fuck outta our way, kid!"

"Not until you pay up." Hardin insisted, staring the two of them down.

"You two got guns, you could sell them, along with the bullets to cover it."

"Fuck off kid, then we won't have shit!" The other patron growled, though Hardin didn't seem swayed.

"Not my problem."

The two patrons grabbed their guns, raising them up towards Hardin as they got ready to gun the Young Sherriff down, however, Hardin had already drawn. He shot at the two patrons, blasting them clean away with two harsh and quick shots.

He managed to take them both down, with only one of them being able to fire a shot off but completely missing and shooting upwards at the ceiling as he flew onto his back, landing with a heavy thud on the floor, groaning loudly as he lay there and prompting Hardin to wander over to him, pulling the latch back and ejecting the empty case onto the floor.

Gob found himself looking away as Hardin towered over the fallen rabble rouser, knowing that it wasn't his place to comment or protest but also knowing that Hardin wouldn't listen. Instead, he elected to simply do his best not to flinch as he heard the finishing gunshot.

He failed...

The shot was amplified by the metallic walls, causing everyone to wince as they heard it. The thunderous vengeance of Megaton's sheriff was heard in every room on the upper level, awakening several patrons.

Hardin said nothing until the spent shell casing fell to the floor, rattling on impact as it did its dance before he turned back to the bar.

"Get me a drink. Somethin' strong." He demanded, a demand that was met with a stern look of confusion before Gob eventually nodded and went straight to the back for some of the good stuff. Hardin's eyes tracked him as he left, sighing heavily as he placed his rifle on the counter top as he twitched his nose, eventually rubbing at his face, furiously.

"Sorry you got dragged into this kid." Nova said, in a soft, quiet tone. It was obvious that it was out of guilt, the same guilt that Hardin always had inflicted on him, when doing his job.

"I ain't... it got me outta bed." Hardin shrugged, looking back over to the bodies on the floor of Gob's tavern.

"I'm more sorry about the mess." He sighed, kicking the fallen patrons boot.

"I'll see 'bout getting them cleaned up."

"If you could, the only corpse I want to have to lift is my boyfriend, these guys look like they weigh a lot more as well." Nova agreed, gently kicking them.

"Here Sheriff, it's on the house. Least we could do after all that you've done for us this mornin'" Gob said, sliding a drink across to him, to witch Hardin merely twitched his mouth in a way that vaguely resembled a smile.

"Thanks..." He murmured, knocking it back, barely wincing as the burning liquid cascaded down the back of his throat.

"Nobody's giving you two shit or anything are they?" Hardin asked, eyeing Gob as he put the bottle back.

"Heh, nah... Been a while since we had any problems on that front."

"Yeah, Gob's been scaring them off, ain'tcha?"

Hardin attempted to appreciate their affections for each other but struggled, it seemed incredibly off to him that the most desirable woman in this sinkhole was with the least desirable being.

That includes the Brahmin...

It wasn't just that though, he was most certainly jealous of their situation, a situation where they had everything they needed and were happy about it but Hardin found it hard to grow complacent. Four years ago, he was the Sherriff's Son, two years ago he was the deputy ad now?

Now he was the worst sheriff this town has had in his lifetime, he was a drunk with no ambition and little conviction.

He wasn't even a good shot, like Jericho, at least that made him worth something to someone but Hardin had nothing to offer anyone, the sooner the town discovered that, the sooner he'd end up exiled or dead.

"I gotta go..." He sighed, rolling around his bar stool, pushing his empty glass away.

"Got some patrolling to do."

He approached the door, with some form of hesitation, just wanting to go back for another drink... Just a few hours away from all of this, it seemed worth the consequences of those shameful looks and social indifference.

His mind was made up for him as the door swung open and a girl in metal armour forced her way in.

"Hardin! We need you!" Jynx spluttered, instantly getting his attention.

"Why? What's...?"

"Super Mutants... Well, **A** Super Mutant has entered the town!"

"What did he want?" Hardin asked, curiously.

"I don't fucking know!" Jynx groaned.

"I didn't even know they talked!"

"He attacked anyone yet?" The Sherrif asked as he heard rifle rounds being fired off, followed by a couple of screams.

"I'll take that as a yes." He sighed, drawing his gun.

"I might need backup on this, Jynx."

"When did I become deputy!?" She snapped, sighing heavily as she knew she probably would need to, being one of few able bodied people left in the town.

"Fine, where do you want me?"

"My side, we're going to surround him and see if he's willing to talk. I ain't a fan of shooting at something, where bullets will just piss him off."

"Alright... Just... If he grabs you and separates you from your joy department, don't go, blaming me, okay?"

Hardin sighed, appreciating the vote in confidence as he stepped out, pulling the latch down on his repeater, ready once again to throw himself into the chaos.


	2. Arrival

"The Fuck you call me!?" The Large Mutant snarled, grabbing a settler in his large, green hand and throwing him across the yard, prompting a settler to raise a rather weathered looking Varmint Rifle at his face.

"Oh, you want some to!? You pricks in some sort of suicide cult!? I'll kick all your asses!"

The Settler leapt back in shock, letting off a round, which flew into the mutant's shoulder, he yelled in fury and frustration before charging forward at the idiot Settler, knowing fully well that his Varmint Rifle was like a BB gun to him, it stung but it would take a well-placed shot or hundreds of pot shots to penetrate his thick skin.

"You want to shoot me again, asshole!?"He growled, grabbing hold of his rifle arm and ripping the rifle from his shaking hands before breaking it over his knee and prompting the Settler to fall back to the floor, scrambling away.

"That's what I thought, you stupid shitter! Anyone else!?"

As everyone else backed away, a boy in a tattered brown coat approached him, a tattered brown coat, with a golden star on the lapel.

Hardin kept his weapon in its holster, knowing that shooting this pissed off mutant was more or less a one way ticket to hell. Given that the mutant was talking and not just flat out murdering people, he figured he had a shot of appeasing it.

"I am the sheriff of Megaton, Harden Simms." He began, feeling somewhat hesitant as he began.

"Oh good, law enforcement!" The Supermutant said, his tone suggested mockery.

"Your people ain't exactly rolled out the welcome wagon!"

"Yeah we ain't exactly used to Supermutants just... entering the town, without attacking anyone... not right away, anyway. Hell, the only other time that it happened, the mutant was accompanied by a... Resident."

There was a long pause, allowing Hardin to take in what he was looking at. The mutant was wearing a blood-red sack shirt and pants, though the design of them were odd... The trim of the shirt looked like a dressing gown, like the ones in the old world catalogues and the pants were torn at the bottom, the feet encased in foot wraps.

Wrapped around his waist was a green belt, tied in a knot, again, like a dressing gown. The way that he was dressed almost seemed like imitation. He seemed to be dressed, like an Asian fighter, like you see on those dumb movie posters from before the war. He'd seen one, once, back when he used to scavenge with Mr Jericho.

"Understandable... Still, that don't give you the right to point fuckin' guns in my face!"

"It don't but... How the hell are we supposed to know, who's hostile and who ain't?" Hardin pointed out.

"Don't got any weapons." The Mutant shrugged.

"Didn't stop you from nearly cripplin' our guys."

"Better than killin' 'em." The Mutant shrugged.

"I think."

"We don't tolerate assault here..."

"Good, that was self defense. I ain't allowed to attack people, gotta wait for them to make the first move." The Mutant shrugged, looking around.

"Right..." Hardin shrugged, with a faint sigh, he didn't know if he was being compliant or not.

"Can I ask... What're you wearing?" Hardin asked, looking the mutant up and down.

"It's called a 'Gi', made it myself, based on the one that my Master used to wear."

"Your... Master?" Hardin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He a mutant to?"

"The hell does it matter!? No, he wasn't, if it makes you comfortable. He was a human, like you but not as... erm... dark? Dark but... lighter dark? I don't know what you call it but he was human anyway."

"Hmm... I can't say I've heard of people like him before, wearing clothes like that... Is he a tribal?" Hardin asked, by this point, everyone began to back away. They seemed satisfied that he wasn't going to cause a riot.

"Nah he erm... Do we have to talk out here? I'd rather have a drink and talk. Got caps in my roll." The Mutant informed him, gesturing to his hip.

"I should probably tell everyone else." Jynx offered.

"Y'know... Big mutant walking around the town? Kinda scary..."

"Fair enough." The Mutant shrugged, with a faint sigh, rubbing the back of his bald head.

"You... Got a name?" She asked, it was odd to ask a mutant for his name as few actually had names or at least, few got a chance to introduce themselves.

"My rank is Kyu so... That'll do, my kind don't get names, we gotta pick 'em ourselves." The Mutant shrugged.

"I ain't found a word that sums me up yet... I know some assholes settle for names like 'fist' or 'sharp pointy stick' or whatever object they see as soon as they crawl out of the F.E.V chamber but not me. Gotta mean somethin' you follow?"

"I... Yeah, I know what you mean, our Raiders are similar." Hardin admitted.

"We can go to the tavern but anyone who causes problems there gets shot. Drunk or... whatever." The Sheriff pointed out, glancing away.

"Fine, it'd take six kegs to get me drunk." Kyu admitted, rather nonchalantly.

"Only six?" The Sheriff smirked.

"Damn lightweight."

On recollection as the two of them made their way up the approach, it seemed like a fantastic idea to get the mutant out of the common areas, not that he deserves it but it can cause some unrest, best that some people are prepared.

Kyu seemed incredibly focussed on the path ahead, though he was unable to hide how bothered he was by the occasional comment made by far off settlers. Some screamed, others gasped and some blurted their opinions at him, inflicting them without any form of distinction or purpose.

Even Hardin himself was disgusted by what he was hearing. You would think that after Gob, the people of the town would have learned a thing or two about tolerance, when it came to mutants but no, same old shit.

Maybe people were just born hateful? Maybe they just needed an excuse... According to an old book that Hardin found, he would've been a pariah, because his skin was slightly darker than everyone else's, a few hundred years ago.

Thank God that big green men and flesh rotten fiends came along, to take the heat off of him and divert it onto someone else.

Kyu stood before the doorway, looking somewhat stern and frustrated at it as he glanced to the door handle.

"Could you? I have a habit of breaking these stupid things..."

"Course, Mister." Hardin nodded, pushing the handle down and letting it slowly fall open, creaking loudly as it did and exposing Kyu to the people in the tavern, standing tall and proud in the face of ignorance.

"Woah... Been a while since we had one of you in here." Gob commented as the giant marched over to the counter top, placing his large hands on it.

"What can we get you?"

"What the hell is wrong with your face?" Kyu asked, his face was permanently stuck in a snarl, so it was hard to figure out what he was feeling but right now, it was obvious that he was confused.

"I'm a Ghoul? You seen a Ghoul before?" Gob asked, wringing his hand around the rim of a glass, shifting his hazy eyes towards Hardin, he looked incredibly unnerved that Kyu would try and fix his face, with his bare hands. The Sheriff simply gave him a nod, keeping a stern gaze fixed on him, to assure him that he was still safe.

"No, I ain't... I thought you were just a human, with a messed up face." Kyu admitted, with a shrug.

"Well, that's... Basically what a ghoul is." Gob answered, hesitantly at first but the longer he spent with the mutant, the more at ease he felt. After all, they weren't so different...

"We Ghouls ain't considered human, we're somethin' else. There's a whole city of us, out in DC."

"That's stupid, I mean, you are basically human, right?"

"Mrgh... Most of us, some went feral, others live in... well, let's just say that sometimes dignity can be traded for survival."

"Hmm... Not too different from we mutants then." He shrugged, taking look over the ghoul's shoulder.

"Give me somethin' strong."

"Erm... Okay, how strong?"

"Anything bellow Whiskey? I might as well be drinking fruit juice." Kyu said, indifferently, looking around the room for any clear signs of alcohol storage.

"I got whiskey... vodka... an old Moonshine formula, somewhere in the back."

"That the stuff that Denis gave to you, with the battery acid?" Hardin asked, his nose wrinkled in disgust. He'd tried it once, he could've sworn that he'd been temporarily blinded by that shit, hell, that one tentative sip had probably shaved a year or two off of his life.

"Well, it's technically the strongest thing I've got..."

"Sure, I'll give it a..." As Kyu began to speak, he felt Hardin's hand grasp his arm, quickly getting the mutant's attention as he gave him a stern shake of the head. The mutant's adventurous spirit quickly withered as he slowly retracted his statement.

"Y'know what? Gimme a shot of whiskey."

"By a shot, you mean the whole bottle, poured into the tallest glass that we have, right?"

"Ain't that what I said?" Kyu shrugged as Gob sighed and wandered off, looking for something suitable. Hardin was somewhat relieved as it gave the two of them some time alone...

"So... You ain't erm... What anyone was expecting." He admitted, fumbling over his words a little as he tried not to offend the large brutish creature.

"Heh, don't I know it?" The Mutant shrugged, glancing down to the young sheriff.

"There are odd ones, odd ones that get locked away. Though, from what I hear, more of 'em are bein' used now. I got out just in time."

"Just in time?" Hardin asked, finding his interests peaking.

"Erm... Yeah, I ask my mutant brothers about shit from time to time." He began as Gob approached with a tall glass, getting an appreciative nod from the mutant.

"You can just do that? I would've thought they'd shoot you on sight..."

"Nah, it'd be a waste of ammo... They don't got a reason to attack me, unless I give 'em one. As far as they're concerned, I'm too snazzily dressed for 'em." He began, taking his shot.

"They can't turn me and they know that pissin' me off ain't a good idea, so they don't attack on sight. I can convince 'em, usually, to share some info with me. Dependin' on the mutant, I can lie about bein' one of them from another chapter or admit the truth, that I ain't buying into their shit. Usually, they share stories with me... Well, as well as they can. There was this one asshole who wouldn't stop laughing, told me he had somethin' funny to tell me but then kept laughin' like a jackass. I just... walked."

"One of 'em told you that you'd left just in time?" Hardin asked, wanting to get back on topic as this sounded somewhat interesting.

"Oh, right, yeah! So erm... Last time I talked to 'em, the guys told me that they had a new leader. He's a whole different kind of mutant. They call him Shepard..." He explained, pausing to think on it for a bit.

"The way they talk about him... Sounds like he's not even one of us. He has like... grey purple skin and is way smarter than any of us. He claims he's from some place called Cal-four-ya or some shit or other, they say he's the Chieftain who is reigning them all in."

"So... The mutants are gettin' smarter?" Hardin asked, seeming genuinely concerned about this. Brute strength was all that they had, with smarts? They could be devastating...

"Nah, just their leader." Kyu shrugged, putting the glass back down.

"Still, he's smart enough to know what's important... Y'see, I'm not even unique, I'm a mutant among mutants. There was that guy that you talked about..."

"Fawkes? I think that was his name, big green guy, in a blue jumpsuit?"

"Must've been one of the residents." Kyu commented, thoughtfully.

"There was another one, who's considered a joke among out people. This guy comes out of the chambers all Xen and shit. He comes out an honest to God pacifist! How that works, I dunno..."

"Then there's you." Hardin pointed out, getting a quick glare from the oddly dressed mutant, almost as if that angered him but he quickly retracted to his usual calm state.

"To tell you the truth, I was like any other mutant... Rage was all I knew, I just wanted to kill and eat things, didn't give a fuck about anything...

One day, I'm travelling with my brothers and we spot this guy on his own. We figure he ain't much, just some lone jackass with a hunting rifle, so we jumped him.

"Guy next to me got his head blown clean off, I got gutshot... the guy behind me... I didn't even see him die. I should thank my fucky stars that he wandered off, he didn't even check our bodies to make sure we were properly dead.

I got the strength to get back up, I was dyin' though... The bullet wasn't normal, it tore through me like... fuck knows, it just fucked me up, real bad."

"Might've been armour piercing or something." Hardin suggested, with a shrug.

"Dunno, don't care." Kyu stated, dragging his fingers around the rim of the glass.

"I woke up, hours after... I went staggering through the rocky canyons, not having a damn clue where I was goin' our what my endgame was. Hell, I was so fuckin' stupid back then, that I would've attacked anyone who came across me.

Hell, I did, come to think of it. Ended up findin' this shack, thought it'd be empty, to be honest but then there was this guy in there, dressed in a robe. I clumsily swung at him, with my nail-stick, found myself impressed, when he more or less took me down, usin' my weight against me and sendin' me straight to the floor.

Dunno if I hit my head on the way down but... I wanted to know what he did, how he did it. I got up and **demanded** that he tell me, how to fight like he did."

"Shit, I bet it surprised him..." Hardin agreed, pouring himself another drink.

"Surprised me to, I wasn't even sure of what I was sayin', still not sure if it was coherent or... whatever but he stopped tryin' to defend himself after that. He told me, that he couldn't teach animals to fight, obviously this pissed me off... I threatened to kill him or somethin'... to which he looked kinda... I dunno, like I'd said somethin' funny?

He said 'I must stop bein' an animal and should start bein' a warrior, only then, could he teach me.' He knew that I couldn't hurt him, not in my state. First time in my life and I couldn't coax a man into doin' somethin' for me through violence or fear of violence.

This guy wasn't afraid of me, not on any level and I don't even think that's because I was badly wounded or that he could kick the shit out of me, even at my full strength. The Man understood, there's more important things out there than yourself, than killin'...

Anyone can kill but takin' down a bunch of homicidal maniacs and not killin' any of 'em? That's a challenge, it's why I don't want to kill. I ain't afraid of it, in fact I **want** to kill, all the time. I wanna kill people right now but I can't, I'm a warrior, not a thug or a monster. I fight with purpose, to better myself in body, mind and technique. I can't learn that if I kill all of my opponents."

"That's... An odd attitude for a mutant." Hardin commented, glancing to the blood stains on the floor.

"You know that life don't work that way, right?"

"It don't?" Kyu asked, finding himself curious.

"See that? The blood on the floor? That was two guys, this mornin', came in here and started attackin' people. I had to put 'em down."

"You did... didn't have to kill 'em though." Kyu shrugged, seeming not too phased by the blood.

"They were hurtin' the bar staff. What was I supposed to do?"

"Kick their asses, throw 'em in your... dungeon or whatever you call it."

"We don't have one." Hardin admitted, he seemed rather cold and bitter in his tone.

"You don't have a place for prisoners?" Kyu seemed kind of baffled by this, even mutants took prisoners.

"Nah, we don't take 'em... Nobody screws with a town, that takes no prisoners." Hardin explained, though Kyu didn't exactly sound convinced.

"You don't think so? It didn't put those assholes off."

"Well, some people are just stupid." Hardin shrugged as the door opened and Jynx stepped in, she seemed a little flustered but otherwise in good spirits.

"Oh good you're... Drinking." She sighed as she approached the bar, seemingly having no issues expressing her disapproval.

"It was his idea." Kyu shrugged, gesturing to Hardin.

"She meant me..." Hardin countered, with an irritable sigh as he knocked some more whiskey back.

"She thinks I have a 'problem.'"

"You **do** have a problem." Jynx scowled, taking a seat.

"Whatever, that's not why I'm here... I've warned the shop keepers about you and as many townsfolk as I can. They won't attack you or anythin' now... Can't promise that all of them will be forthcoming or that they'll serve you."

"Bah, what do I need from them? They probably only got a few 10Mill bullets and a packet of damp cigarettes between 'em anyway."

"Oh and erm... If Moira asks you to let her... experiment on you or anything along those lines? Just say 'no,' trust me, you'll feel better for it." Jynx advised, getting a faint chuckle off Hardin.

"I don't think she needs it anymore, Denis helped her with that crazy book of her's. That book that most people without some sort of degree can't understand."

"Huh... I wish I could read, I'd give it a once over." The Mutant shrugged, he didn't sound very sincere though as he immediately poured himself more drink, from a second bottle of whiskey.

"Maybe you can do, some day... The folks at the Church of Atom could teach you." Jynx suggested, with a shrug.

"The Church of... I don't think they're as welcomin' to strangers anymore, not since the fight with Hamilton."

"Well, they might make an exception for our radiation proof friend here."

"They might try lockin' him up as well. I mean, have you seen what they do to ghouls?"

"It was just a thought..." The former Scavver sighed, shaking her head.

"No need to get so defensive."

"I ain't gettin' defensive, I'm just..." He paused, sighing heavily.

"I'm just sayin' to be careful with 'em, is all. They tried poisonin' our water a few years ago..."

"Mrgh, screw 'em, I'll get someone who isn't crazy or stupid to teach me how to read." Kyu grunted as the door burst open and one of the settlers rushed inside.

"Sheriff! We have a visitor and erm... well..." The Man fumbled a bit, grasping one of his hands in the other and holding it, firmly as if he was expecting it to shake.

"Let me guess, they're talkin' Deathclaws." Hardin scowled, rising up to his feet and marching towards the door, it was there that he immediately found himself face to face with a hooded woman, wrapped up in brown robes, with a young boy by her side.

She was well armed, a laser rifle hugged her back and it looked well maintained and modified.

" **You** are the Sheriff?" She asked, seemingly disapproving of his youthful nature.

"You're barely older than my charge, you might even be younger."

"Oh. Well, sorry Miss, you could come back in a few years, when I'm old enough to be useful."

The Woman just glared at him, falling silent before pushing the boy with her forward.

"I need a room for the boy, a secure one."

"Who is he, President of the United States?" Hardin asked, with a bemused smirk as the woman just glanced at the boy, he remained silent but looked like he had a lot to say.

"Something like that..." The Woman answered, honestly.

"Can you give us a secure room?"

"Sure." Gob acknowledged, stepping out from the back room, collecting the tall glass before it was tragically broken by some clumsy asshole.

"So long as you've got the caps, it's One-ten but I'll need a deposit of twenty, to make sure you don't leave with the key."

"Deal." The Robed woman said, looking back to the boy.

"Go upstairs, the room at the far end of the balcony? That'll be ours... Stay there, don't open the door to anyone but me."

The Boy quickly nodded, without a word, he began his ascent. He seemed to be a little hesitant, as if staying in a place like this was new to him. To be fair, it most likely was...

The Woman approached Hardin again, looking up and seeing Kyu for the first time and looking very unnerved.

"Is... Is he tame?" She asked, prompting Kyu clench his fist.

"Sure, he's got a slight drinking problem but you'll never find a tamer human."

"Oh, a mutant with a smart mouth. As if you beasts couldn't get any worse..." The Robed woman said, the emphasis on her words were like sharp spits, something that added insult to injury. Kyu, remarkably kept his composure...

He was practically immovable.

"Are you going to be a problem?" Hardin asked.

"Kyu is just as entitled to be here as you, I don't wanna hear anything otherwise!" Hardin insisted, glaring to the Robed woman, with a stern, sharp eye. She found herself glaring back to the Mutant, with a degree of distrust but after a few moments, she had no choice but to accept that he was a little too well protected to start anything with.

"So long as he's tame..." She said, continuing to stare him down before stepping away, heading towards the tavern's counter and throwing a small bag full of caps onto it before making her way upstairs.

Hardin couldn't help but keep his eyes fixed on her, the way that she carried herself, like she was above everything and everyone else in the room. It was the strange combination of fascination and frustration that kept him watching before he could watch no more...

"Snooty bitch... You get 'em a lot, like that?" Kyu grunted, folding his arms as he gave Hardin a stern glare.

"Not really... Thank you though, you erm... Showed a lot of restraint."

"For a mutant, ya mean..."

"No, for someone being spoken to like they were a piece of shit." Hardin corrected him, with a shrug.

"I appreciate it."

The Mutant rubbed his head, vigorously, sighing a little as he did so.

"Well... I was taught better than to throw a punch at everythin' that I don't like. I fight to defend myself, nothin' more."

"Sounds like there's a lot of restraint involved..." Jynx commented as she went back over to the bar and sat on the stool.

"Especially when dealing with people like... _her_." She added, her emphasis kind of surprised Hardin as normally she wasn't so keen to show her disgust for others.

"Bah, she was a snooty bitch but not worth killin'... Lookin' at her weapon and the armour, under her robes? I think she's one of the bucket heads."

"Bucket heads?" Hardin asked, with a bemused smirk.

"Yeah, those assholes that pretend to be robots, with buckets on their heads? You know the ones..."

"The Brotherhood?" Jynx suggested, it was her best guess, matched the description quite well.

"Yeah, Brotherhood of Assholes, looks like she's the Queen asshole."

Hardin paused, looking back towards the stairway and taking a deep, sharp breath.

"That kid..." He began, taking hold of his glass.

"They don't normally take kids into the citadel, he must be important..."

"He didn't look important, looked like a lamplighter, given his outfit." Jynx observed, she'd know, since she grew up with them.

"Maybe he's the Elder's Son?"

"Nah, Elder has a daughter... I met her once..."Hardin then paused, thinking a little more.

"He could be her kid?"

"Whoever squeezed him out, that little shitter is probably goin' to be their King or Elder or God or whatever..." Kyu observed, rising to his feet.

"Imagine the ransom..."

"What!?" Hardin seemed genuinely shocked by this as both he and Jynx immediately had their attention robbed by the tall mutant as they stared, dumbfounded by what he had just said, it was almost as if they were pleading for him to admit that he was joking.

Kyu laughed a little shaking his head at their nervousness as he waved his hand dismissively.

"I'm fuckin' with you... You ever held a kid hostage? They're the fuckin' worst!"

"I've never had the... experience." Hardin sighed, going for another shot of drink but realising that he was out. He decided to call it quits, mainly so that Jynx wouldn't have a go at him...

"Trust me, you ain't missin' out."

Arthur stared upward at the ceiling, his eyes remained fixated on the patterns as he made a slight game of imagining himself on the cracks and flaked off bits. The actual ceiling itself was lava and he couldn't jump too far, so he had to plan it out carefully.

It seemed pointless but he couldn't sleep and it kind of annoyed him at this point, how little he could do. The whole point of running away was to grow, to become more independent... Yet, he finds himself being bogged down by 'help' and told when and where he can speak. It was just a little maddening...

It had been half an hour, Durga, the woman who had took it upon herself to take care of him, was curled up on the far side of the room. He could easily slip in and out, without waking her...

It took him some self assurance, so many 'what ifs' that kept his desire to leave his room at bay, so many possibilities of disaster...

Still, it was better than the alternative, lying here, staring into the dark...

No, it was certain, he was going to have a look around the nearby area and procure something that could help protect them.

He stepped over to the door and realised that he'd need the key, he shook his head in frustration before looking around. Durga most likely had it, clasped within her palm. Was it worth even attempting to retrieve it?

He paused, sighing heavily as he stepped on over to his bed and took a seat, taking several breaths before looking back up to the ceiling. Lying here made his mind go in circles, considering what happened to Sarah, all of the power hungry 'Elder Candidates' that fought like jackals over a soon to be carcas. He was a boy and he could see it...

The Brotherhood was dying.

As admirable as it was, Lyons' desire to save everyone and police the wastes had left them at somewhat of an impasse. The Brotherhood most likely wouldn't support anyone whole heartedly. There was the technophobes of the old order, those who were close to becoming outcasts and then there were the Lyons loyalists.

Neither of which were achieving anything, left intact.

He could see the division, it was caused by a lack of leadership, a lack of focus or goal. The Brotherhood's purpose was no longer clearly defined and so, everyone was struggling to understand their place.

Arthur felt like the embodiment of this conflict at times, he himself was divided as to what he wanted from the Brotherhood... Both goals were admirable, their difficulties and rewards were both grand but which one was right? Which one would have them stand, immemorial?

Sarah knew what she wanted to do... He was sure of it. She didn't know that she knew... if that made sense but there was a burning desire to do what was right. She knew what the Brotherhood needed and she did it, without question.

He heard her confess once, that she would've preferred the support of Paladin Callaghan. After Project Purity and Adam's, she expected him to be there, with her, in the end. Instead, he shirked his duty and ran. He was a traitor in Arthur's eyes, an interloper, who wasn't loyal to the cause at all, just his own indeterminable whims.

Many tried to excuse him, tried to say that he was merely an 'honorary member' but that was a load of shit. He used the order and then fled, taking half of Megaton with him, according to the reports.

If he had been there, that night, if he had stuck to his duty... Sarah would be the Elder right now, she would have the Brotherhood united under one banner and working to help the Capital Wasteland.

But now? She was gone, they were all gone and all that Arthur had was one big mess to salvage an order out of.

Was this what growing up was? Solving the mistakes that shitty adults made, over the course of their lives? Weighing their kin down with flags and burdens, that stopped them from running free?

It was a hard thing to consider... but maybe Denis wasn't the only one who had betrayed him, maybe it was all of them.

It was at this point, Arthur heard a faint clunk on the far side of the room, prompting Arthur's eyes to widen as he quickly glanced to investigate. It would seem that Durga's grip had loosened...

Arthur found himself wandering the town for the best part of an hour, he constantly checked his watch. The Watch was battered and old, the glass on it was cracked but it still served him well. It had a small Vault Boy at its center, with his arms serving as the clock's hands.

It looked very uncomfortable for the Vault Boy, it always kind of irked Arthur how it didn't look possible to hold your arms in that position. Hell, the only time that it looked normal was at 4-6 AM/PM.

From what he understood, a lot of young Vault Dwellers were given these. Some people won them in cereal boxes but those ones were flimsy and apparently broke easily. This was a lot heavier than those, according to Durga, who more or less knew everything about her store room.

She'd got him this for his birthday, back when she was just some woman, who he never spoke to. Back then, she lived shut in to the armoury, serving as a quarter master of sorts. As the fighting broke out in the assembly hall, Arthur often found himself offering help to her.

He liked the quiet of the stock room, the focus of stacking the shelves and the isolation. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they didn't but either way, over the past few months, Durga was thee one that he was closest to.

She was nothing compared to Sarah... Harsh but true, Sarah was everything to Arthur. She was his inspiration, the thing that inspired him. He honestly felt like he loved her at times...

By now, the streets were more or less deserted and he himself had wandered the ramparts more times than he dared to count. There was something about this place, being nobody and wandering like a ghost...

He had no idea what the buildings were, that he was looking at. None of them were well lit, except for one of them. Out of curiosity, he made his way over to this building, running his hand along the railings and glancing over the edge. He could see a Brahmin, blissfully unaware of the troubles that affected the world.

He often wondered about the thought process of animals. He knew that they had some form of basic psychology, like how pigs were like children, burrowing their faces into the wall, when they were scared.

He wondered if they could think, like he did, if this creature, who simply observes people as it stuffs its face its whole life would have any insight into the troubles of the Brotherhood or that of his own really.

Somehow, it was doubtful but it was nice to have something to ponder, whilst wandering aimlessly through the dark. By this time that his thoughts had been lost to a slight distraction, he found himself stood, directly outside the brightly lit room and it suddenly made a lot more sense.

This shack was the Armoury...

Arthur looked around before getting on one knee and examining the lock, a lock that could not be picked easily. He knew how to pick basic locks but he had a long way to go before he would be cracking safes. Still, he felt intrigued by what weapons or armour would be waiting for him inside...

He gently placed his hand on the handle, he didn't expect it to magically be unlocked but at the same time, he could hope. It seemed like his only option...

"That ain't the bathroom." Hardin informed him, getting him to turn around, somewhat startled. The Sheriff looked incredibly suspicious of him already and he knew that he wasn't exactly a great liar, it wasn't in his nature.

"Oh, I'm sorry I... I was just hoping to see inside." Arthur admitted, with a sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I grew up in a military complex, this is the only building that will begin to feel like home."

This was partly true, though he wasn't homesick. He intended to go back, to find a any technology and procure it for himself. He needed a weapon, despite Durga's insistence that he didn't.

"Well... You don't want to be in there anyway, the robot would kill you on sight." Hardin shrugged.

"We'd also probably shoot you as a trespasser as well."

Arthur let go of the handle and stepped away from the door, leaning against the wall as he did his best to not look troublesome.

"You don't like me much, do you?"

"Now that you mention it? No, not really..." Hardin shrugged, he found himself a little more eager to draw his weapon. This boy was a dumb kid, dumb kids were always happy to reach for their weapons to prove themselves.

He knew that, better than anybody...

"Please... I know that Durga can be a bit... well, firm but she's a good person." Arthur insisted, with a sigh.

"We both are, we're out here, looking to help save this wasteland from the mutant threat."

"The Brotherhood of Steel sent a kid?" Hardin asked, he seemed sceptical.

"B-Brother... Dammit, how'd you know?" The Maxson child was certain that their identities remained a secret until now.

"My friend, the mutant? He figured you out... So are you like a child soldier?" Hardin asked, finding himself curious.

"N-No... I'm a... Well, I'm a special case. I was brought from California to... Well, I was brought to make sure that we wouldn't run out of young people in the future."

"California?" Hardin asked, finding himself curious.

"That... Can't be a coincidence."

"What can't?" Arthur asked, he seemed concerned but part of him was glad that the topic had been moved from him, his origins and Hardin's suspicions of him.

"Shepherd... The Super Mutant's new leader, he said he was from that place." Hardin admitted, looking back to the Saloon.

"Shepherd? He's leading the mutants?" Arthur asked, his tone was demanding, almost like this had turned into an interrogation.

"Yeah... You can ask Kyu about it... Nicely though, if I hear you've been pulling any shit? I'll send you back to your brothers in a tin can!"

Arthur remained silent, though nobody had talked to him that way before, he didn't exactly dislike it. He appreciated Hardin's honesty and his code of ethics, a lot more than he would blind obedience.

"Very well, you have my word..."

Hardin wasn't really looking for his word but he decided to just wander towards the balcony, staring over the edge of the railings at the sleeping giant at the center of town. He had nothing else to say to the boy, now that he knew where he'd come from and what he was doing here.

Unless he started shooting things with a laser or plasma weapon, Hardin no longer had a problem with him.

Well, for now...


	3. Vanguard

Kyu kept an eye on the table, examining the carvings that some bored man did so long ago. It was times like this that he sometimes felt like he needed to remember being human but no matter how hard he tried... he just couldn't visualise it.

The vision caused him a great deal of mental exhaustion and sometimes physical pain, it was like holding up a colossal weight, the longer and harder you try to hold onto your memories, the more tolling they were.

He wondered if this was what drove his brethren mad, he could feel his grip on himself failing as he tried to let go of it and grab hold onto his humanity. He felt it was a trap. It was too much to hope to succeed...

He had been at the bar for a while, not feeling comfortable leaving just yet. He wasn't an idiot, he knew what people were expecting of him and what they'd do to make him meet their expectations. He was too familiar with human nature...

The door opened and the Boy from earlier slipped in, prompting the Supermutant to turn his attention towards him, slowly rising to his feet.

"Hardin bring you back?"

"Hmm?" Arthur asked, finding himself confused that the mutant had begun to address him first.

"Erm... N-No... Well... He found me... He didn't _send_ me anywhere. I came here myself actually, to talk to you."

"D'aww... Well, you're too young for me but maybe in a few years I'll consider giving you a chance." Kyu assured him, causing Arthur's face to scrunch up in unadulterated disgust.

"Don't be foul!" He hissed, marching over to him and staring the large brute in the eye.

"I want to know about your leader! Tell me about Shepherd!"

"A please would be nice." Kyu shrugged but whatever.

"Shepherd's this... grey mutant, he's shorter than me but taller than you. He's smart, strong and knows what makes the muties tick." Kyu explained, with a shrug.

"That's all I can give you."

"You must know more!" Arthur insisted.

"What's his plan?"

"I don't know the guy personally, let me make that clear but... I think his plan involves unifying the mutants. I don't know why or how but he wants to be recognised as the mutant leader... hence the name. He's shepherding us into a new age for us, now that **could** be beneficial for you humans, if this guy is smart enough to reign the mutants in or could be disastrous if the muties are suddenly smarter and better equipped. Your guess is as good as mine, I only know what I've been told."

"Who told you this?" Arthur asked, seeming somewhat eager to keep this momentum going.

"A mutant, just a random one that I asked on the road."

"Wait... The Mutants just... let you talk to them?" Arthur asked, seeming puzzled by that.

"Yeah, they see me as... Well, not one of their own, I mean we have a tribal identity but they don't attack me on sight, sometimes we can trade, talk... whatever."

"Do you think they'd let humans approach with you?" He asked, he almost seemed enthused by this idea, getting a laugh out of Kyu.

"Hmm... Somehow, I really doubt it. Could be wrong though... I'd rather not find out." The Mutant shrugged, not wanting to experiment with human lives or with the mutant's own tolerance with him.

"I guess I could, in theory pose as one of them and pretend I've captured you, spin a story and shit... Of course, that would be a lot more effort than it's worth."

"If you made that effort, I would assure you that you'd be spared, when the Brotherhood purges the Mutants." Maxson offered, getting little more than an irritated glare from the tall warrior.

"Oh, that's nice, ain't it? Help us and we'll let you live! You Brotherhood people really are assholes, you know that!?"

"I... Thought you would be grateful, grateful for the chance to..."

"You're shit at this, ain't you? You can't even promise that I'd be spared! If your bucket head buddies want me shot, who's goin' to stop that from happening, you?"

"If necessary." Arthur said, sternly.

"Who's going to listen to you? I mean, I shit bigger than you!"

"It doesn't matter how big I am, my opinion matters in the Citadel!"

"Pfft... Who even are you? Some knight captain's kid or somethin'? You're probably kept around out of pity..."

"I am kept around, because throughout my life, I have **earned** my place. I am the true heir of our order, the future incarnate. My opinion on the world that I want to live in is going to be far weightier than some close minded old shelf stocker's!"

The large mutant just glanced down to him, pausing for a moment before walking away. He was done with this shit...

"Arthur!" Durga snapped, staring over the railings and glaring down at him, like a hawk, watching its prey. She quickly got his attention, gesturing as he looked up to her, with a quick gesture to their room, behind her.

With some degree of hesitation, Arthur began his ascent up the stairway, knowing that he was likely going to be ash in a few minutes.

He was snatched and quickly dragged into the room, the door slammed shut behind him.

"Are you kidding me!?" She snapped, storming around, so that she could be directly infront of him.

"What the hell were you thinking!? I thought you were better than this, trying to sneak off like some dumb-shit kid!"

"I wasn't!" Arthur protested, harshly at first but his tone and face softened.

"I... I was looking for information, trying to make myself useful by finding some items. I actually did as well."

"You..." Durga sighed, she had just woken up in a blind panic and wasn't too concerned about arguing anymore.

"Alright, fine... What did you find out, from the mutant?"

"I know who their leader is and what he's doing. They call him Shepherd and he's a Marisoppa Supermutant, from out west. According to that guy down stairs, he's trying to achieve something similar to the Master."

"Another..." Durga paused, taking in a deep, sharp breath before sighing.

"Another Unity... Dammit, we barely survived the first one, if it weren't for the Vault Dweller, we would all be ten feet tall and green now. Without Paladin Callaghan though..."

"We don't need that traitor, we can manage just fine on our own!" Hardin demanded, firmly.

"Just us two? I'm not exactly a paladin and you aren't even a soldier, what're we even going to do?"

"We'll go back and warn the Brotherhood, if they know the risks..." Durga paused, what was the point in finishing that sentence? It was all just delusions anyway, the kind of delusions she had before being locked in that damn closet.

"There are plenty of Paladins who would help us, like Danse or maybe even..."

"We can't trust anyone in the Brotherhood, assuming we could get in and out of there without arousing suspicion. There has to be someone in town..."

Durga paused, glancing to the floor, with a heavy sigh, she knew what he was saying but wasn't inclined to agree. Still, going back now? That could mean being locked up or at least being under the watchful eyes of her superiors. She couldn't, in good conscience sit in a prison cell, waiting for the world to go to shit. She just couldn't... not after everything they'd built.

"There... Is an option but..." She murmured, taking in a deep breath.

"We'd be chasing a rumour."

"A rumour? What?" Arthur asked, folding his arms and looking at her, sternly.

"The rumour... suggests that a man, matching the Lone Wanderer's description has been see in Megaton. He wears a pipboy, a leather coat and has the same hair colour as on file. Though the description seems... Off..."

"Off?"

"He doesn't have the right skintone or hairstyle, Denis could be in disguise but... That is a very large 'could be' for such a diversion."

"Who else is there? Denis is gone, Star-Paladin Cross died for him and..." He paused, not wanting to say anymore but...

"There's no one who can fill his shoes."

Durga paused, she could almost feel the effort off of him, pulsating furiously.

"Maybe we don't need those shoes filled... Maybe we just need someone to slip into them again." Durga shrugged, looking away, to the railing.

"Still, we should get a few more hours sleep and head out in the morning, we aren't safe, now that you've told everyone who we are."

"I didn't, they figured it out on their own. It's not my fault that that Mutant is perceptive and that your outfit is a dead give-away."

"My..." Durga paused, sighing heavily as she accepted responsibility for her mistakes. Albeit silently...

"Well... It seems we'll both have to do better but let me make something clear, like Crystal. If you pull that shit on me, sneaking off again? I won't look for you, I'll just go. You've already lost me so damn much with this and I don't blame you for that but what I do expect is that you don't deliberately fuck around and put the entire mission in jeopardy, because you're bored. Got it?"

"But I..."

" **Got it?** "

"Y'Yes... Sorry..." He sighed, folding his arms and looking away, with a bit of a shiver.

"I'm... I think that getting some sleep is a good idea."

The two of them lay back in their beds, their eyes fell shut, almost immediately. There was a long, dark silence, after they fell asleep, floating in and out of dreams as the stress caused a great deal of turbulence but their will kept them afloat.

Well, for two hours or so...

Durga's eyes were the first to shoot open as she heard some loud screams, down bellow, gunshots rang from outside, along with several explosions. She was quick to sit up, checking on Maxson and immediately finding herself relieved, when she saw him stir.

"What's... What's going on?" He asked, quickly sitting upright.

"Is there... Fighting?"

"Sounds like an all out war out there." Durga observed as Arthur rose to his feet and cobbled his belongings together.

"Shit, we have to help them!"

"No we don't that isn't our place and we are severely under equipped..."

"But it could be the mutants! Every gun would count and that **is** our place, they're an abomination of technology!"

"That maybe so but we aren't soldiers, we talked about this."

"You talked and I listened and if this means we're through, we're through. I'm not just going to sit here and let the mutants take this place and turn it into a damn fortress!"

Durga sighed, damn he was stubborn... She kind of liked it...

"Alright, fine." She scowled, readying her laser rifle.

"You follow me, got it? Don't break ranks! If we're going to pretend to be soldiers, lets go all the way and act like them."

"Yes Ma'am!"

Without any further hesitation, Durga marched down the stairs of the Salloon, laser rifle at the ready.

Hardin found himself knelt down behind a fallen Nuka Cola machine as several mutants tore their way down the path, using hunting rifles, sledge hammers and one even had a plasma rifle of some description, that shot three beams instead of one, like the energy weapon equivalent of a shotgun.

The people of Megaton had taken a stand, by the bomb, knowing that the mutants would likely not bother to use the ramparts, given that they were more about showing brute strength and force. Hardin had already urged as many of the small folk as possible to head back to the common areas, fearing that they would likely be slaughtered if they stood against the mutant force.

"Hardin!" Jynx called, rushing over to his side and kneeling down, doing her best to keep her head down.

"Raine? What the fuck man? I told you to get back to the commons!" Hardin snapped, peering over the edge and taking a shot.

"They need someone to protect them!"

As he peered over the edge, to take another shot, he found himself stalling as he saw a Supermutant Overlord was already making his way up the ramparts, tri-beam laser rifle blasting full throttle at the barricades.

"Shit!" He yelled as Jynx pulled him to the floor.

"Hardin, what the hell!? You nearly got killed!"

"Jynx, he's movin' around the Ramparts! They're gonna flank us!"

The Lamplighter looked up in horror as she saw that he was right, she swallowed hard and backed away.

"Sh-Shit... I'm going up there!"

"On your own? You'll be killed!" Hardin yelled as the Settler next to him's head exploded, causing Jynx to scream as chunks of brain and skull showered over the young Sheriff to which he winced and shivered.

"Are you okay?" Jynx asked, catching his eye.

"N-No! Jynx, this is awful! I don't know what to do!"

"Okay, just... calm yourself!"  
"Jynx, we're going to die! I can't help anyone, I can't even help myself! What the fuck am I doing here!?"

"Hardin! Please!"

"Why did I send him away!? He would've saved us!" Jynx took this as a clear sign that Hardin had indeed lost his mind, she slapped him across the face, a quick, sharp sting knocked his face to one side.

"Snap out of it! You're all we have right now, Hardin! You're all that can save us!"

Hardin paused, shivering a little, with a faint sigh as he reached into his pocket, drawing out a small flask and knocking a swig back.

"Okay... Okay... I'm... Jynx? You need to go to the Saloon, find that Brotherhood woman and get her to help. I don't care how, just do it!"

Jynx nodded, firmly, crawling over the brass lantern, ignoring a bullet as it bit at her heals.

"Okay, I have this!"

"Y-Yeah you do!" Hardin agreed, with a firm nod as he glanced up to the Ramparts and saw how close the mutant was. However, to his surprise, a red blur appeared by its side, kicking at the Overlord's feet and throwing it down to the ground.

Kyu was already on top of the mutant, punching it in the face, repeatedly as the beast tried to overcome him with his superior but misused strength. The Large, sack-cloth mutant had already drawn blood within seconds of meeting this creature, much to the disgust and frustrations of it.

"Traitor! Die now!" The Overlord snarled, throwing a punch into the side of Kyu's head, causing him to deflect it with his bear-paw-like hand. The pain forced him to retract, holding said paw as he stumbled back to his feet, knowing that it had caused him a lot more pain than he had let on.

The Overlord stumbled to his feet, breaking into an enrage scream before charging onward and shoulder barging into the Mutant martial artist. Kyu was swift, with his counter attack, shuffling a little to the side before doing a hard hitting chop into the creature's back, causing it to stumble forward. It continued to snarl, snorting a few times as it did so, turning around to see Kyu gently recover his hand by nursing it in his other.

"For your fighting, you are weak still!" The Overlord said, spitting as he spoke and seemingly not noticing that Kyu wasn't exactly listening as he was planning his next move.

"Come and break me." He said, practically daring him to do so as he let his arms fall to his side.

As Durga kicked the saloon doors open, she immediately found herself face to face with the Sheriff's girl. She had no idea what she was doing here of all places, possibly protecting the liquor for her boss.

"Thank God, we need your help!"

"Where do you need me?" Durga asked, much to Jynx's surprise, she would have thought that they would need more convincing than this, being Brotherhood and all.

"Erm... On the Ramparts? The Mutants are starting to make their way up there, hoping to flank us. We need to keep them clear!"

"I'm on it!" Durga answered, with a quick, decisive nod.

"Arthur! Stay put!"

"Durga, I..."

"Stay. Put."

Arthur sighed, knowing that there wasn't a great deal of things that he could do anyway.

"Alright, I'll hold this position." He acknowledged, not letting his disappointment go unnoticed.

"If things go to shit, leave this place and head straight back to the Citadel."

"I... Yes."

Without even bothering to hear his answer, Durga rushed down the approach, laser rifle at the ready as she made her descent, discharging several lasers down at the mutant horde.

From her position, she could see five on the main approach and two on the Ramparts, on closer inspection, she saw that one of the ones on the Ramparts was the red robed mutant from before and considering that he was in hand to hand combat with the Overlord, she figured it was best to consider him an ally.

The thought occurred to her that he could've orchestrated this attack but had he done that, he wouldn't then have turned on his own people. Or at least, she'd hope he wouldn't be **that** idiotic. With little else to go on, Durga began her descent, covering Hardin along the way. She managed to shoot and kill a weaker mutant, by blasting him in the right shoulder and blowing the attached arm off, leaving little but a charred stump behind as he fell to the floor.

Jynx stepped up behind her, 10mm pistol at the ready.

"We should probably help Kyu!"

"The Mutant is fine, we should cover Hardin." Durga insisted, firing off another shot.

"Hardin is in the most immediate danger. The Mutie can hold that other guy off, surely!" Jynx insisted, getting and irritable sigh from Durga as she didn't exactly appreciate being told what to do.

"Alright, we might as well use their tactics against them, we can use the ramparts to give them cover."

"R-Right, though I'm not the best shot." Jynx admitted.

"Don't worry." Arthur assured her, leaning over the railing, with his laser pistol.

"Just keep aiming for the mutants, something is bound to hit them."

"I don't exactly have bullets to waste." Jynx sighed as she fired one off, she couldn't even tell if it had hit anything or not. She decided to take it slow, ensuring that she was able to make some good shots, instead of just firing blindly…

By now, Hardin had been unable to do anything for a while, he was pinned down by a barrage of bullets, all of which were buried in the fallen Nuka Cola machine.

He took some deep breaths, finding himself glad for the cover fire as he attempted to think of a way forward. These mutant freaks didn't seem to be decreasing in number, not yet anyway…

It felt like one would pop up, every time another died. This confirmed it to him, this was definitely an organized raid, these creatures hadn't just stumbled across the Town, by accident, they were planning to take it.

As he sat there, thinking, he heard a very loud thud in the distance, several in fact, followed by an earth shattering roar. His trembling hands found themselves slipping in and out of his coat pockets, trying to find the mirror that he used to see what was coming. It took him a few moments but eventually he managed to clasp his hands around it and held it up before his eye, examining it carefully.

Marching through what remained of the door was some sort of colossus, a supermutant, who reached a height of thirty feet. It dragged a large club behind it, that looked like it was a street lamp, with a huge chunk of a car attached to the top of it. It looked very heavy and looked like it would mean certain death to anyone who came into contact with it.

The Creature looked around at the chaos, even from several feet away, Hardin could see that it's behaviour was that of a distressed creature, growing enraged at the noises and the flashing lights. Within seconds, it went from being terrifying to… something else. It let out another ear shattering roar before charging forward, readying its club and charging straight for Hardin's vending machine. The Sheriff dropped his mirror and began panting, finding himself frozen on the spot, out of fear as he saw the colossus charge towards him.

His eyes tightened, clutching his rifle as he grimaced, curling up into a ball.

 _Wanderer…_ _ **Help us!**_


	4. Invasion

The shadow of the Colossus cast over Megaton as it slowly strode down the approaching, giving little care as to what he stood on or knocked over, what he crushed or killed. It was hard to tell if he lacked the mental capacity for it or if he simply didn't care.

Perhaps he knew the pain he caused and revelled in it.

Hardin took several deep breaths, sliding his rounds into his rifle as he shuddered furiously, trying to keep his rifle from rattling from the shakes that had overwhelmed him.

As he found himself overwhelmed by the creature's shadow, he found himself closing his eyes and retreating to the inner recesses of his mind. A place that he didn't even know existed, until he entered it out of sheer desperation.

He saw his Father in this place, for the first time in nearly five years. Not as he remembered him but how he actually was. They were inside his house, such as it was, enjoying a Salisbury steak that he'd managed to score a few days ago. There was no Denis to ruin it, as he was back in his hole, underground. There was no Hamilton to terrorise the town or Mr Burke to destroy it, life was... simple...

There was this one time, 'Thanks Giving' he called it, where his Dad said that they had to pray and be thankful for what they had. Every year they had the best meal they could get and would thoroughly enjoy it before Dad would pay Moira to hook up a projector to the back of the room and they'd watch a movie in his house.

They only had the one movie, about a cowboy. Hardin was adamant that this is what inspired his get up as the movie was about a little girl, who hunted down a guy, who killed her Dad. There was this guy in it, who his Dad called 'the Duke,' a title that Hardin hadn't heard of before but it sounded important.

His Father explained that he was in a lot of movies like this, back in the day. Usually appearing as a hero, who saved the day. He was a Mountain of a man, big strong hands and a strong face and had a deep, calm and heroic voice. In the movie that Hardin saw him in, he sported an eyepatch, however, Hardin's Dad said that he didn't wear it in other movies, so he must've gotten that injury later on.

At the end of the movie, the Man would ride off, cheering happily in response to being told where he'll be buried, when he died. Hardin considered that to be an... odd reaction, to facing one's mortality but perhaps it was the certainty that he would get a grave at all, a permanent monument to his existence. You see, the Wild West, as his Father called it, was a lot like the Capital Wasteland. There was no law and order and it was up to people like his Father, Jericho and Hardin himself to ensure that the peace was kept.

By any means necessary...

The best part about the whole night was how his Dad was, when the movie played. How Hardin was...

It was like they were both twelve year old kids, laughing, shouting 'pew pew!' whenever the bad guys got shot. One time, his Dad pretended to ride the chair, like it was a horse.

It was... oddly comforting to see his Father, the most disciplined and serious man he knew acting like this. It made him a bit more human in Hardin's eyes and his only regret was that nobody else really knew about this.

Moira sort of knew but she didn't stick around for the movie, she has the attention span of a gnat with attention deficit disorder, so she'd just go back to her shop and go back to tinkering. That suited Hardin just fine, not that he didn't welcome anyone into his home at the time but... it was a special day for his Father and him to just be themselves.

Being himself... Now there was something he hadn't done in a long, long time...

Ryu roared, furiously, leaping up on the railings and throwing himself across. His two, large hands, caked in Super Mutant Overlord blood up in the air and at the ready as he threw himself at the Colossus's face, grabbing on tight as the giant stumbled back.

The Karate student's fist was repeatedly slammed into the monster's face, hitting it again and again, almost immediately drawing blood. He gave out an earth shattering roar as he stumbled back, reaching up and desperately grabbing at the smaller Mutant, wrapping his large fingers around his back and tugging at him furiously.

Ryu got a few more shots in before he was eventually torn away, much to his annoyance as he drove his fist down, into the creature's hand, in an effort to try and spring it open. Though he understood that human hands (or equivalents) weren't exactly like bear traps, brute force was all he had.

It was at this point that Hardin scrambled to his feet, noticing that the shadow had cut out after swaying for a few seconds. The unnatural sounds that it emitted seemed to be coming from further and further away. Hardin raised his repeater rifle, which, despite its monumentally old age packed one hell of a punch.

He blasted shot after shot, aiming for its midriff, trying not to hit Ryu in the process. It kind of frustrated him that the woman, aiming the laser rifle above his head was having an easier time of shooting the monster than he was but maybe it was because she had years of experience on him as well as professional training.

He took deep breaths as he fired this time, doing his best to reduce his hand shake as he did so. He took several deep breaths, sighing heavily after every couple of shots before eventually reloading the rifle.

He had around ten .44 rounds left, he knew that he had to make them count but he knew that doing so, without hitting Ryu was going to be incredibly difficult.

"Hardin!" A voice called to him, getting his attention rather quickly, finding himself coming face to face with a girl, just younger than he was. She seemed to be wearing a Merc Crusader outfit and was holding a scoped magnum, close to her chest.

"Maggie?" Hardin winced, looking around.

"What're you **doing** down here!?"

"I was in the Brass Lantern, when that thing came through the gate... Figured I'd be safer inside, until you showed up. Is there any way that I can help?"

Hardin looked, in truth, he didn't like putting Maggie in harm's way as he had been doing his best to protect her, since Billy died. Still, he struggled to think of a scenario, where they could win with less guns.

"Could you cover these guys? Don't leave this spot, unless you have to, I need to go back to the house for something." Hardin winced as he heard more gunshots.

"Erm... I'm not Billy, I don't think I can shoot so well." Maggie admitted, looking down to the magnum on her hip.

"I'm not asking for anything other than cover fire, you don't even have to hit anything. I just need them to see and hear gunshots, okay?" Hardin assured her, stepping over to the Brass Lantern's counter.

"O-Okay..." Maggie murmured, taking a deep, sharp breath.

"Whatever you're getting had better be good!"

"It'll win us the fight, just keep him busy!" Hardin warned as he began he broke across the courtyard, hopping over the railings and making a hasty ascent. Maggie took in a deep breath before peering around and firing off, shot after shot. The Titan was a pretty easy target but his buddies would prove to be a little more challenging.

"You like that, dip shit!?" Ryu yelled, thrusting his fist into the Titan's face and resulting in it roaring in response, it reached up and grabbed a hold of Ryu, throwing him across the landscape, to the point that he nearly hit the nuclear bomb at the center of town.

He landed with a gravelly skid, the tough skin on his arm cracked as it grazed against the stones and the impact made his shoulders kill a helluva lot but thankfully, he landed in a sort of ball, minimalizing the impact damage to his head and limbs.

He put his hand down, hitting the floor and creating a loud splash as his hand found itself submersed in the radioactive waters. He grumbled in frustration, knowing that his robe's sleeves were now going to be damp, which was just the splooge cream on his diahrea shake of a situation.

Stumbling to his feet, he noticed how many of his 'brethren' were stumbling through the gates and he was aware that it was only a matter of time before even he would have to fall back. Each of them raised hunting rifles and crummy, American made, assault weapons. They were at least smart enough not to go toe to toe with him, when it came to hand to hand or melee combat.

The Titan continued to stomp forward, making Ryu realise that a frontal assault wouldn't work. Instead, he opted to take a right and followed Hardin up the Ramparts, he hoped that he could get in behind them.

"Fuck!" Durga hissed as she went back to ducking down behind cover.

"Everyone is quitting the field, Arthur, we need to leave, **now!** "

"No!" Jynx snapped, much to the former Quarter Master's annoyance.

"Hardin hasn't 'quit the field,' he's going back to the house!"

"What!? WHY!?" Durga yelled, failing to see any possible tactical advantage of letting the mutants gain further ground.

"Denis' supply cache, he had weapons that even the Brotherhood couldn't match! He had stuff like Tesla Cannons and mini nukes, that could kill a beast like that! We just need to hold it off!"

Durga scowled again, another example as to why Lyons' compassionate bullshit was going to doom us all, apparently now everyone can keep experimental Brotherhood technology under their beds.

"Alright, I'll hold them off for as long as I can but if they reach the nuke, Arthur and I are getting out of here!"

Jynx nodded, figuring that was more than fair enough, she found herself looking around the railings again and seeing that Maggie was now the front line of defense.

"Shit! Look how close they are! We need to keep the pressure up!" She insisted, readying her rifle and firing off shot after shot.

Arthur nodded and gestured for Durga to get back up onto her feet, she found herself slightly annoyed that she was being ordered around, by a bunch of kids but at least the orders were agreeable...

For now...

By now, Maggie was looking like she was going to make a break for it and who could blame her? Durga felt like doing the same thing before this shit even began and now, she could see that the Titan was mere feet away from the device that could turn this entire shit hold town into a burning, irradiated crater.

Arthur observed himself, wishing that he could pitch in in some way or another, sadly though, he wasn't able to do much but spot. It was frustrating to be the only kid with combat training as well as the only kid without a gun.

He kept an eye out for any more incoming mutants but sadly found himself struggling to see anything, behind the Titan. It slowly marched, unfazed by the hundreds of bullets, flying into its chest. The Mutants around it seemed to be targets that were easier to kill, harder to hit though, given their smaller size but somehow they didn't seem like they were as big of a threat.

Four of them surrounded the Titan, escorting it as it made its descent...

As Durga assessed the threat, she noticed that Ryu had emerged from behind the mutants and was slowly creeping towards them. She could see his plan, take them out as quickly as possible, hopefully before most of them knew he existed.

She opted to start firing at the four mutants, drawing their fire, which was incredibly unfocussed and inaccurate. The gunshots, combined with the occasional roar, of the titan created enough noise to drown out Ryu's footsteps and the oncoming projectiles were a nice little display to keep their easily distracted minds at bay.

Ryu took the opportunity to slip out of cover and grab a Supermutant from behind, wrapping his left forearm around his face and pulling him down. Ryu was pretty large and bulky, even for a super mutant as he spent a lot of time training and working out, so he had an advantage of strength but he also had the advantage of knowing how to kick someone's feet out from under them. Ryu pulled up, resulting in a knuckling crack that sent the Mutant's neck limp as it was released and dropped to the floor, this prompted him to move onto the second mutant, who was still returning fire to the Brotherhood Warriors above him.

Ryu opted to sweep in, attempting to do something similar to him but finding that this one had a bit more strength than the last one. Though his head went back, he quickly started putting up some resistance and knocking him off of his feet didn't seem to work.

He saw the beast's large, lumbering hand reach over his shoulder for the martial artist, prompting him to reach up and snatch it in place.

Seeing now, that he had the mutant in a headlock, he began to put some pressure on, stopping the mutant from yelling out to his comrades. It was likely that they would hear his cries, if it came to that.

The strong hands of the karate master were wrapped around the Mutant's face and with a twist, he heard a loud crunch, sending the abomination down to the ground.

By this point, Ryu was fully aware that the Titan's advanced guard would prove to be difficult, he knew that taking one down would mean that the other would be alerted. This was the ideal situation to have a partner in, one where they could each take a mutant down before either of them knew that they were there.

Sadly, this wasn't an option on the table...

By this point, Durga had grown a little more frustrated, due to the fact that her energy cells were being eaten up by cover fire of all fucking things. She honestly thought that she had enough to last the trip but now? She would be lucky if she had any left, by the time this stupid fire fight was done...

Durga readied another EC and this time scanned Ryu's immediate surroundings, glancing up to the gate. It felt like a formality at this point but as she looked up, she saw several bulky figures, marching through the dust.

Eight or so Super Mutants were marching through the dust clouds at a time, row after row of them entered the city and began to draw their weapons. Despite their large numbers, the thing that disturbed Durga the most was the mutants on the far end of each row, each one carrying a banner, that they swung in the air with a sense of pride.

This wasn't just some dirty, bloody rags that hung from them either. A symbol had been painted on in blood and the way that it was tied to the large pole that was attached to it indicated only one thing...

This wasn't an assault or a pillage or a raiding party... This was an invasion.

"Durga! Look!" Jynx yelled, seemingly in blind panic as the Titan was now stood over the nuclear missile and was slowly reaching down to pick it up. Durga quickly turned her attentions towards the beast and began firing at its face, she hoped that shooting it in the eye or the mouth would at least cause it to pause for a few moments but unfortunately, the monster seemed ignorant to any damage even done to its face or was just able to push past it.

Maggie peered from behind the Brass Lantern's counter, revolver at the ready, it was at this point that she noticed the large mutant from before, sneaking up on attacking Supermutant to the Titan's right. Being so close to the one on the left, she knew that either she or the Martial Artist risked discovery and that he needed someone to take the Monster out, who slowly shuffled in front of her.

The Beast was far too focussed, shooting upward, trying to hit the source of the lasers coming from outside Moriarity's old place.

With a deep breath, Maggie fired a shot off, hitting the Supermutant in the side of its head and causing it to stumble backward, shaking furiously as the .44 remained lodged in his thick skin, possibly even touching his skull. This didn't seem to be enough to kill him, however, it seemingly just made him incredibly angry as he turned his attentions to her.

Maggie slipped back into cover as various hunting rifle rounds were blasted at her, the ballistics exploded on impact and showered her in sparks, that flew up into the air and fell down on her, like confetti.

The Mutant continued to fire off, resulting in two more shots, whittling past her ears and another exploding above her head, similar to the first. It was at this point that the mutant was forced to reload.

"The Master **lives!** " He screamed, feeding a magazine into the gun and pulling the latch back, only for his head to explode as another .44 round went careening into it, hitting him, square between the eyes and blowing a large chunk of his face off.

Sighing with relief, Maggie slipped back behind cover, opening the spool on her revolver and taking the time to reload.

How much longer was this going to take? Hardin could've been there and back, three times in the time that it took for him to get this one, stupid item. It'd better be a fucking mini nuke or something...

She watched as the large mutant grabbed hold of the bomb, realising that she was seconds away from being vaporised or worse. Without thinking, she spun out of cover and fired, upward, at the monster's face, hitting it four times, without much luck of hurting him.

Growing quite distressed, she decided that the best thing that she could do was use the scope and go for the eyes. They were such small targets though, that she feared that it would be fruitless...

Still, the worst thing she could do was nothing and so, she lifted her magnum up and closed an eye, carefully looking through the scope and seeing what was at the center of the crosshairs. She found that her hands were trembling and that the monster was swaying as a result. Still, she kept her focus up and slowly wrapped her finger around the trigger, taking a deep breath.

"C'mon..." She murmured, gently squeezing the trigger as she remembered what Billy taught her. Damn, Billy could've done this! Why couldn't he have been here? If he couldn't survive the last raid, that was simply a group of men, just what chance did she have?

She did her best to swallow her doubt and kept up the pressure, eventually firing off and watching as the balistics exploded around the eye socket, causing a small bloody explosion. The Titan let out an earth shattering roar as he stumbled back, gritting his teeth together as he backed away from the missile and turned his attention to Maggie.

She gasped as she saw what she had done to him, seeing that his eye socket hat been completely shattered and that the eyeball itself had been shattered. What was left of it, dangled precariously from a tendon.

The Titan didn't seem very forgiving and proceeded to march forward, readying his hand as he grasped at the roof to Doc Church's shack and tore at it, ripping the rusty nails off with ease as the large piece of sheet metal was pried. He grasped it with both hands and lifted it over his head, barely even flinching as the last of Maggie's .44 rounds hit his brow before driving it down on her.

At this point, Maggie's legs had locked in place, her hands were equally as stiff, wrapped tightly around the gun as she irrationally pulled at the trigger, hoping that a magical 7th bullet would appear and save her.

All she could do at this point was watch as the large, metalic plate made its descent.

 _The Fuck is she doing!?_ Ryu thought as he watched the large beast approach her, brandishing a colossal, metallic shield-like weapon, which he was ready to drive down on her with the full extent of his force.

Considering that this mother fucker just ripped a roof off, like it was nothing, it kind of spoke volumes about how much damage it would do to this little snowflake, the second that the two collided.

The Mutant decided that it was kind of up to him, he figured that he'd be the brave one, since everyone else was too far away or chicken shit to help. He burst out of his prone position and charged into the fray, snatching Maggie up, a nearly grown woman was just as easy to pick up to him as a cat would be to your average human.

He leapt aside as the club struck at the earth, making a permanent indentation in the earth, left like a scar on the town's surface. The Titan roared in frustration at the lesser mutant's audacity as he swept his mark up. He had already bolted across the courtyard, heading to what used to be the Church of the Children of Atom.

He ducked down, using it as a makeshift foxhole as the club shattered over his head and caused the outer rim of it to crumble, like a sandcastle.

"Th-Thanks!" Maggie called, rolling onto her stomach and emptying the cylinder.

"Less praising, more shootin'!" The Mutant snapped, scrambling upward and pulling himself to his feet before rushing back into the fight.

By now, more mutants were pouring into the gates, covering the Titan as he grasped the atomic bomb and slowly routed it up, out of the ground. It was wedged in pretty tightly but not tight enough to stop the Titan from claiming it anyway, it merely delayed him as earth slowly crumbled beneath the impact spot.

"Our bomb, dipshit!" Ryu yelled, jumping into the radioactive pool at the center of town and hiking his way up the buried bomb, leaping up onto the creature's colossal, bulky arm and beginning his ascent.

He could see the lasers from the balcony fly over his head, though this didn't exactly discourage him. Not yet anyway... He could see the mutant reach over for him, rather frustrated with the martial artist's constant interference. He knew now that, were he to get caught, that he would be one hundred percent fucked. Thus, he used the creature's forearm like a springboard and leapt upward, climbing up to the creature's chest and hanging on for dear life as the monster's God-Like hand wrapped around his waist and tried prying him off.

By this point, Maggie was ready, with her revolver, taking a few shots at the monster's face but sadly finding that she wasn't able to hit his eyes or pierce his thick skin. As a result, the Titan was able to lift Ryu off, like a fly that was crawling around his shirt and grasped him in his hand.

"Hands off, you big green fuck!" He snarled, beating his fists down on the giant's hand. It occurred to him that something sharp would be beneficial, right about now, too bad he hadn't thought of that until now. Not that he liked using weapons of any kind but he equally didn't like being crushed either and this was technically cheating, being ten times bigger than he was.

He could feel the pressure on his body, his pelvis felt like it was on the verge of folding in on itself and this was just the first bit of pressure, that was applied to him. He knew that even he would struggle to hold out against this thing's tree trunk-like arms.

The lasers and bullets combined were enough to liquefy any other form of super mutant but this Titan son of a bitch barely even reacted to it. It was like attacking a dinosaur with rubber bands on somehow even more stupid as Dinosaurs at least felt some semblance of pain, this thing took having its eye shot out like one would a paper cut.

This made it even more surprising, when he heard a laser fire off from behind and the monster immediately roared. He heard another shot and another, followed up by the entire world spinning out of control as he felt himself fly through the air, uncontrollably, straight into, what used to be, Mr Burke's shack.

He crashed into the roof, leaving a large dent in it before rolling off and eventually landing with a heavy thud on the floor, in front of the doorway.

The Titan felt a great burning sensation hit his lower back and shoulder blades, he thrashed around to deflect and shield himself from the onslaught of energy blasts but found that it was no use. It seemed to do just as much damage, when hitting his arm as it did his chest.

His mutant brethren could do little but watch as he was bombarded by ten, energy blasts, causing him to eventually start glowing as his skin cracked up. The colossal being turned back around and thrashed at the mutant invaders, seemingly looking for their help, what little they could offer but at this point they were too afraid of being crushed, when this beast inevitably toppled over.

The Beast's hand dissolved to ash as he reached out, scattering in the summer breeze and blowing back into the faces of his lesser mutant brethren. His entire arm, his hip and one of his legs had dissolved by now and he was losing more of his body to disintegration by the second. As his vitals also deteriorated, what remained fell down to the ground, dispersing into a colossal ash cloud, moments before impact and eventually creating a huge dust pile at the base of the ramp.

The Mutants, despite the fact that they were no longer in danger of being crushed, continued to run for their lives. Maggie emerged from her hole, somewhat tentatively as she still feared that she could get shot but none of her enemies were even looking at her at this point.

Everyone of them fled into the wasteland and within seconds, the invading party had scarpered, leaving nothing but their fallen comrade's corpses and a few vanquished enemies as proof of their assault. It would seem that, without the titan, they were forced to fall back and come up with a new plan.

By this point, Hardin stumbled down the approach, panting heavily as he raised his grey, space pistol. He kept his sites on them as they fled but thought better than to shoot them in the back as ammo for this weapon was incredibly rare, in fact it was impossible to find any more at this point and the less than 100 shots were all that he had left.

The young sheriff lowered his pistol and sighed heavily, shaking his head as he turned back, to see Maggie, crawling out of the hole in the ground. Without a second thought, he rushed to her side, to help her, kneeling down and taking her hand to help her get back onto ground level.

"You... You killed it? H-How?" She stammered in disbelief, prompting Hardin to draw the laser pistol from his pocket and show it, cautiously.

"One of Denis' old toys..."

Within seconds, he noticed some movement, descending from the path, prompting him to holster the weapon and wrap his coat around it to ensure that it stayed hidden.

"You..." Gob began, getting everyone to grind to a halt.

"You did it, we're saved!"

This was followed by a cheer at some of the settlers at the back, somehow, Hardin didn't feel like cheering after all of the death and destruction.

In fact, he felt like getting another drink...


End file.
